Moving on
With former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the presidential race in next year’s polls, the issue of the late Ferdinand Marcos’ rule in the country has again been brought to the fore.
The presidential aspirants have a divergent stand on the Marcos issue.
Bongbong’s playbook is anchored on the theme “moving on” with no acknowledgment of any plunder and abuse of power during his father’s reign, no excuses, no justifications, and no apologies.
On the opposite side is Vice President Leni Robredo’s firm stand that the Marcos issue is non-negotiable. According to Robredo, it is necessary to keep repeating the truth about the abuses during the Marcos regime, especially with the attempt of the Marcos descendants to revise history and to regain power in government. People’s champ Senator Manny Pacquiao stands on the same side with Robredo, demanding the return of the ‘ill-gotten wealth’ and an apology for the abuses.
On the other hand, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno positions himself as a forward-looking candidate who admires Marcos “at some point” as a visionary but who is against the abuses committed during the Marcos regime. Isko’s soft stand on the Marcoses is one of the reasons for the failure of the unification efforts of the opposition against the Dutertes and Marcoses.
The result of the 2022 presidential elections will be the Filipino people’s judgment on the Marcos issue. The rise of another Marcos next year will mean that the ‘dark years’ of the Marcos regime are now buried in the abyss of oblivion. His defeat will serve as a reminder that the wounds inflicted during Marcos’ time are still fresh and that the people still demand accountability.
However, the choice for the next president is not to be dictated by those who are eyewitnesses to the late President Marcos. According to COMELEC, young Filipino voters now comprise 52% of the total registered voters. Of the 60.46 million Filipinos already registered for the 2022 general elections, 31.41 million voters are 18-40 years old, mostly not yet born during the EDSA revolution. This age group compromises generations with social media as part of their daily lives, and as we all know, the platform is abundant of fake news and propaganda.
Whatever will be the outcome of the elections will define us as a people. Our will expressed during elections is always right and serves as a hallmark of a free society. Gerald Pomper, in his book The Concept of Elections in Political Theory, said that elections would improve the workings of politics, even if they would not ensure the quality of the resulting product.
Therefore, it is not enough just to cast our vote since this will not ensure whether our elected leader will follow our will. We must vote with discernment. The meaning of the term “moving on” is not for the candidates to define and to dictate upon us. We, as voters, must decide what our future should be.